SSUSH16 The student will identify key developments in the aftermath of World War I

16.a- Explain how rising communism and socialism in the United States led to the Red Scare and immigration restriction The experience of WWI and its aftermath led to a rise in fear and paranoia concerning radical ideologies of socialism, communism and anarchism. The Russian government had been overthrown by communists in 1917, sparking global concerns that the anti-capitalist movement might spread. In the US there was a lot of labor unrest following WWI and some of the more radical labor leaders and the ideologies they espoused were associated with recent immigrants to the US, primarily from eastern and southern Europe. This fear of radicalism and the response to it became known as the “Red Scare” (red is the color associated with communism). The response to the Red Scare was a nationwide effort to root out radicals, many of whom were prosecuted and jailed under the Espionage Act. The attorney general, A. Mitchell Palmer created a new office in the Justice Department (later to become the FBI) and sought out “radicals” from coast to coast in what became known as the “Palmer Raids.” Eventually, the fears associated with the Red Scare led Congress to enact substantial immigration reforms. In the early 1920s, they passed a law that set quotas for immigrants from certain nations. The numbers of immigrants from the southern and eastern European nations more associated with radical political ideologies were severely restricted.

16.b- Identify Henry Ford, mass production and the automobile Henry Ford pioneered the mass production of automobiles by perfecting the assembly line for the manufacture of automobiles. By reducing production costs he was able to reduce the price of automobiles to a point that most middle and working class families could afford them. As a result, Ford dominated the economy auto market for decades. Countless other products also became mass produced during this era, and the consumer economy exploded across the nation.

16.c- Describe the impact of radio and the movies The introduction of radio in the 1920s was one of the most monumentally impactful developments of the era. Through radio, Americans began to be exposed to much of the same music, shows and advertisements and this contributed greatly to the standardization of American culture. Movies also became an ubiquitous form of inexpensive entertainment in big cities and small towns all across the nation.

16.d- Describe modern forms of cultural expression; include Louis Armstrong and the origins of jazz, Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance, Irving Berlin, and Tin Pan Alley The “Roaring 20s” are also commonly referred to as the “Jazz Age” for the rise of the musical form associated with the fast paced, party vibe of the era. Louis Armstrong was one of the most popular early pioneers of the genre. The 1920s also witnessed a flowering of African-American artistic expression, especially centered in the new Black urban centers, like Harlem in NYC. The Harlem Renaissance encompassed Black authors, poets, musicians and visual artists. Langston Hughes was one of the best known figures of the Harlem Renaissance. His poetry addressed the ongoing struggles of African Americans and the new expressions of urban Black intellectualism arising in the era. Another expression of culture associated with the 1920s was the rise of popular music. Songwriters like Irving Berlin helped to initiate a wave of uniquely American popular music. The standardization of American musical forms was strengthened by the consolidation of the music publishing business. Centered in New York City, “Tin Pan Alley” was both a physical place ( a street where many of the largest music publishers was located) and a metaphor for the era’s music industry in general.